The Officer's Desire

by Colleen French

  She gave a nod, squeezing his perspiration-soaked shoulder. "What else have I to concern myself with? Someday you and I will run this plantation on our own, God willing, and I intend to know just how. I'll not shrink from my duties. I hear the other women talk. They all have a part in their husband's dealings in this colony and I'll not be different." She chuckled. "That is, of course providin' the English don't tromp us!"

  Devon stood, his arms crossed over his chest, looking out on the fields his father had cleared as a young man. "Don't say that, Cassie. We've got to win. Our children have a right to this land." He clenched a fist, shaking it, his brows creased. "We have a right to it!"

  Cassie smiled, a little in awe of the depth of his commitment. She'd never heard Paddie O'Flynn speak of rights . . . of causes. He fought to defend his friends beside him and he fought for the coin. "Then come, husband." She spoke lightly. "Tell me how we are to tend these fields. I want to know everything. Why they pick the flowers from the plants"—she nodded at the servants filing up and down the endless rows of leafy tobacco, plucking the buds from them and dropping them into sacks—"when the tobacco is cut . . ." She gave a little smile. "And how the hell you intend to get your shipments through the British lines . . ."

  Devon rolled his eyes in response to her choice of words, but said nothing. There were some things he realized he was never going to change in her. And it was probably just as well. After all, wasn't her brutal honesty what had attracted him to begin with? "All right, Cassie. Come, I'll show you what I can this morning. But I warn you. You'll not learn this all in a day; it takes years of practice and error to be a good farmer in these parts."

  Cassie watched him sweep his hat off his head and run his hand through his unbound hair. Who would have ever thought a man's hair could be beautiful, she mused, a smile playing on her lips. It was so silky and thick, so sweet-smelling. A tingle ran down her spine as she recalled last night's lovemaking and how good his hair had felt tangled between her fingers.

  "Cassie? Are you listening to me?"

  She stiffened in the saddle. "Heard every word." she answered, embarrassed that she'd been caught mooning over him. Ye Gods! What was wrong with her? A woman so stuck on her husband! "Well, go on. I'm still listening."

  Devon shook his head and started forward again, giving her horse a tug on the reins.

  "Master Marsh! Master Marsh!" a voice called from behind them.

  They turned to see the young boy whose brother Devon had saved from the river. "What is it, son?" The boy was now working at Marshview and attending the schoolmaster's classes.

  The boy came to a halt in front of Devon and swept his dusty hat off his head. "Sally sent me to tell you there's a visitor up to the house." he said, panting.

  "Lady Anne she said her name was."

  Devon sighed. He didn't have time for callers! He was dressed in his work clothes. He looked down at his dusty breeches and stockless shirt. He'd have to change to receive her, damn it! "Very well, you can tell the lady • I'll be up directly."

  "Ah, no, sir." The boy kicked at the hard-packed ground with a bare foot. "She's here to see your mistress." He nodded shyly at Cassie on the horse.

  Devon frowned. He could guess that Mary had instigated this. He dropped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thanks, you can go now." Dismissing him, he peered up at Cassie. "You want me to come with you?" She looked like some ancient goddess astride the massive horse, the way the sun shone down on her, setting fire to her mass of red curls.

  She shook her head. "I know how busy you are. You stay." She clicked to the horse, turning it around. "I can fend for myself, I'll warrant you."

  "I wasn't concerned with your welfare; it was Lady Anne's." He grinned, giving her a wink. "Seriously, she's a good person. I doubt she'd mean you any harm."

  Cassie sunk her heels into the bay and it leaped forward, heading down the road. "I'll see you at the noon meal."

  "No time! I won't be up until dark." he yelled after her as the distance between them lengthened.

  "Then I'll just have to bring it to you." she called over her back before she disappeared around the bend in the road.

  Leaving the horse in the barn, Cassie hurried up to the house. She knew she should put on a morning dress before she received Lady Anne, but all this changing seemed so foolish. She spent half her day upstairs pulling dresses over her head! How could the smell of a little horseflesh offend anyone? Rules be damned! She was too curious to see what Anne wanted to take the time to change.

  Hurrying through the house, she flung the doors to the parlor open. "Morning." she greeted. The smile faded from her face when she spotted Mary seated beside Lady Anne on the settee. Didn't that woman ever go back to her own home?

  Before Lady Anne could speak, Mary was on her feet. "Cassie! Run upstairs and change. You certainly can't receive your guest dressed like that."

  Cassie raised her chin a notch. "You don't care how I'm dressed, do you?" she asked Anne.

  Anne looked from Mary to Cassie, not quite sure what to make of things. "Well no, no, of course not." she stuttered, coming to her feet.

  "Didn't think you would." Cassie smiled, coming to take the gloved hand Anne offered. "Cassie O'Flynn." She laughed. "Cassie O'Flynn Marsh it is now." she said, squeezing her hand warmly. "It was nice of you to come." See that, she told herself, you can be just as mannerly as the rest of them.

  Mary cleared her throat. "Would you care for some tea, Lady Anne?"

  Cassie withdrew her hand. "Tea, hell! It's too hot for tea. Besides, that colonial herbal brew tastes like warmed-over privy water. How about lemonade? Devon brought a whole bag of lemons home for me yesterday. Devil knows what he had to trade to get 'em!" She motioned out the door. "I thought we'd sit in the garden where a person can breathe."

  "Indeed not!" Mary took Lady Anne's arm to steer her back to the settee. "As hot as it is, we'd be faint in minutes."

  Cassie dropped her hands on her hips, the anger rising in her. "Anne, did you come to see me, or Mary?"

  Anne's eyes grew round and her jaw dropped, unsure of what to say.

  "It doesn't make a lick of difference to me. Just tell me. The houseboy said you'd come to call on me. Mistress Cassie Marsh. So did you or didn't you? Speak up."

  Anne swallowed, pulling her gloves from her hands. Mary wasn't the kind of person one wanted to make enemies of, but still . . . "Well, I did come to visit with you, Cassie. I wanted to welcome you."

  "Well then, if you'll excuse me, Mary . . ." Cassie looped her arm through Anne's and started out the door. "I'll be in the east garden if I'm needed." With that, the two walked out the door, leaving Mary to stand with her mouth gaping open.

  The two women stepped out into the garden and Cassie released Lady Anne's arm, suddenly a little unsure of herself. She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of honeysuckle and wild roses. "Thank you for coming. No one else has called on me, except the sisters." She laughed, nodding in the direction of the house. "No one on the hill is terribly pleased with me." She eyed Anne's petite figure, the pristine white gloves, her smooth taffy-colored hair. "They wanted Devon to marry you."

  Anne sat on an iron bench beneath a trellis of ivory roses. "It seems everyone wanted us to marry . . . except Devon and I."

  Cassie nodded, brushing her hands over a well-trimmed hedge of shiny boxwood. "Devon says you never loved each other. He says you were only friends, grew up together." She turned to look at Anne, afraid of what she might say. How could a girl not love Devon?

  "You've no need to fear me, Cassie. Devon was like a brother to me. We took our lessons together, he taught me to ride, to swim." She smiled. "But Devon is too strong a man for me. Too ambitious. Too full of life." She slipped her hands back into her gloves, her voice dropping until it was barely audible. "My heart belongs to another."

  Cassie let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, Devon said your affections lay elsewhere. So when will you wed?"

  She shook her head. "No. We can't. He . . .
he is a merchant. My father has refused to give me permission." She bit her lip. "There will be no wedding for us. My father says I have shamed his name; but he will find a suitable husband to get me off his hands." She dropped her head, twisting her hands in her lap.

  "So get yourself in that carriage, go find that gentleman merchant of yours, and go to Chestertown. You could be married by midnight!"

  Lady Anne's gloved hand flew to her mouth. "I couldn't." she breathed, her eyes wide with shock.

  Cassie pulled the cocked riding hat off her head, coming to stand in front of her guest. "What have you got to lose?" She reached impulsively to squeeze Anne's hand. "If you've already shamed the family, you might as well be happy!"

  Lady Anne shook her head. "Oh, no, I couldn't." Her soft brown eyes met Cassie's. "I couldn't go against Papa's wishes!"

  "And why not?" Cassie took both of Anne's hands, pulling her to her feet. "Have a little spine, girl! If you love the man, marry 'em, Father be damned. Don't you know there's a war on; we might all be dead in our graves tomorrow."

  Lady Anne's hands trembled in Cassie's. "I'm not that brave, I couldn't do it. I'm not like you." She looked away. "You're right, I lack courage."

  "Nonsense! Do you or don't you want to marry your merchant?" Cassie released her hands, and began to pace.

  "Well, yes, I suppose I do love him." Anne blushed profusely, turning her head aside.

  "So, you lose your dowry. It's better than losin' your life to a man you could never love!" Cassie turned to watch Anne. She could see how she was struggling with herself. "Lady Anne, you don't know what it's like to be married to a man ye love, a man that makes your heart pound every time you spot him out the window." She grinned. "Ye think of him day and night." She threw up her hands. "You can't think of anyone else. Do it!"

  Anne reached out to touch a rose on its vine. "Yes." she whispered to herself. "I'll do it." she added with more resignation. "It's what John said we should do all along." She smiled.

  "Good for you! Now you get yourself in that fancy carriage of your daddy's and you go to your John. Dump the driver in Dover and take the carriage."

  "I couldn't!" Anne squeaked. "Not Father's carriage!"

  "And why not? You're just borrowing it. You don't think you're worth one lousy carriage?"

  Lady Anne reached up to adjust her beribboned hat with the ostrich plume. "I guess you're right. I am worth at least one carriage!"

  "You sure as hell are, now get going before you lose your nerve." Cassie led the way out of the garden. "Have you got nice inn. I'll expect you to be the talk of the town by the end of the week!"

  "Well, I don't have much." She fingered her small bag on a drawstring. "Maybe John—"

  "Wait." Cassie squeezed her arm. "You get your carriage and wait for me out front. Porter, Porter." she called to the young boy on the front yard. "Get Lady Anne's carriage out here!"

  Whirling around, Cassie raced up the front steps and into the house, practically knocking Mary over as she passed her in the hallway. Up the stairs Cassie went and into their bedchamber. Sweeping a few coins Devon had left for her on the side table, she grabbed his coat off the bedpost. She knew his money pouch had to be somewhere. She just wanted a few coins, enough for Anne and John to pay their way to an inn for a few days. She knew Devon wouldn't mind. When she couldn't find it in the coat, she dropped it on the bed and picked up his waistcoat. Giving it a shake, she smiled at the sound of jingling coins and pulled his money pouch from an inside pocket.

  "Cassie! What are you doing?" The sound of Mary's shrewish voice echoed in Cassie's ears as she took the front steps two at a time. Outside in the bright sunlight, she ran to where Anne's carriage waited in the circular drive. "Here you go." she said breathlessly, dropping the extra coins into the pouch and pressing it into Anne's hands. "Take it."

  "Oh, no, I couldn't!" Anne held out the bag for her.

  "Don't be a ninny. Take it and pay me back later. You said you've no money. How do you expect to pay for the papers?" She rested her hand on her newfound friend's. "You make sure this wedding is good and legal!"

  "I can't thank you enough." Lady Anne's doe-brown eyes shone with gratitude.

  "You've treated me kindly. I need no thanks, now go." Cassie signaled to the driver and stood watching the open carriage until it disappeared down the long tree-lined drive.

  "What, may I ask, has just transpired here?" Mary followed Cassie down the hall, hot on her heels.

  "You may not ask; it's none of your business." Cassie stopped short and spun around, causing Mary to nearly run into her. "So mind your knitting, before I mind it for you!" She held up a balled fist.

  "Well!" Mary huffed. "I never!"

  "No." Cassie chuckled. "I don't suppose you have! Now if you'll excuse me, I have my husband's noonday meal to attend to."

  "You just wait." Mary called after her down the hall. "You wait until Devon has gone, and then we'll see how things change around here!"

  Cassie just laughed, going out the back door and toward the summer kitchen. What did she care what happened after Devon left? She had no intention of letting him go without her.

  Cassie rode leisurely down the dirt path, enjoying the sounds and smells of the August day. Sparrows chirped, leaping from branch to branch in an oak overhead, and the smell of wild flowers and lush green foliage filled her mind with pleasant thoughts. After Lady Anne had gone, she went to the kitchen and had one of the kitchen girls pack a hamper of food. If Devon didn't have time to come in from the fields to eat, then she would just have to take his meal to him. Besides, she preferred his company in the grass beneath a tree to the stiff conversation of his mother and sisters at the dining table.

  Cassie urged the bay forward as she came around the bend, spotting Devon up ahead. He was standing just inside a row of tobacco, settling an argument between two bond women. Cassie pulled the horse up and waited for Devon to finish, a smile of amusement playing on her lips. Devon was trying his best, but he didn't seem to be making any headway. It seemed that both women claimed they owned the straw hat he held in his hand and neither was willing to give in. Trying to suppress her laughter, Cassie finally swung down from the saddle and walked over to them. Devon didn't know a thing about common women!

  "Afternoon, ladies." Cassie tipped her head, reaching to take the hat from Devon's hand. She gave him a wink, turning back to the bondwomen. "I have the perfect solution. You can't make up your minds who this fine hat belongs to . . ." She shrugged her shoulders. Then you'll just have to share it. Master Devon, might you have a knife with ye?" She turned to smile sweetly at her husband.

  Devon's mouth twitched with amusement, but he said nothing as he handed Cassie a blade from a strap on his hip.

  "I'll split the hat in half." she told the women, their mouths gaping.

  The slimmer woman dressed in the blue overskirt threw up a hand. "So cut her!"

  "My hat!" the plump woman called. "My Wally just bought her for me at the fair." She threw her apron over her head. "My new hat!"

  "Here." Cassie held the straw hat out to the plump woman. "Take your hat and don't leave it where others can get ahold of it." She motioned with a hand to the grateful woman. "You're dismissed. Not you—" Cassie turned to the thin woman. "You keep your paws off other's belongings. If you spent more time working and less time stealing other's things, you might own yourself a new hat." She held up a finger. "Now get back to work, and don't let me hear of any problems from ye. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, mistress." The woman bobbed her head up and down and hustled off.

  Devon grabbed Cassie's hand and pulled her behind a huge elm, nestled at the edge of the woods. "You're very clever." he teased, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And I'll lay money, very sweet." He lowered his mouth to hers, his kiss hard and demanding.

  Cassie's hands slipped over his damp shirt and around his neck, accepting his mouth greedily. She laughed deep in her throat as his tongue darted out to taste the honey of her l
ips. "Bad, you are." she murmured as she pulled away, her breath short. "The way you're dressed, a stranger would think I was foolin' with my haired man." She giggled, reaching up to brush a lock of hair off his forehead.

  "Sorry about your dress, I am a little dusty." he apologized, making no attempt to release her from his grasp.

  "Smell like a mule, too." She kissed him lightly on the lips."'Tis all right though. I've always been fond of mules. Now come, I brought a hamper of food from the kitchen. You must be starved." She led him from behind the tree and back out on the road that ran between two fields.

  "What are you in such a good mood about? Did your visit with Anne go that well?" Devon swung her arm playfully, keeping her hand in his.

  "You might say that." She gave a nod. "I kind of need to talk to you about that. Is there somewhere we can go where there are no ears?" She nodded ever so slightly at the knot of slaves and bond servants gathering for their meal beneath a nearby tree.

  "I have to go to the prize house, where the tobacco is pressed into casks. We can talk there. I want to be sure that roof's been fixed before I go." He glanced at Cassie hesitantly, but her attention was purposely elsewhere. He smiled inwardly. She didn't give up easily, this Irish wench of his. She hadn't said anything in days about his leaving without her, yet he knew that was all she thought about. She just didn't seem to be able to get it through that thick head of hers that he wasn't abandoning her. They were at war, for Christ's sake!

  Once they arrived at the prize house farther down the dirt road, Devon left Cassie to set up their dinner beneath a tree while he checked the roof. Dismissing the workers, he came to sit beside her, leaning his back on the scarred trunk of a grandfather oak.

  "You look tired." Cassie handed him a thick slab of pork between two slices of Mildred's fresh bread.

  "I am, but there's so much to be done. In the last few years Father has spent most of his time in our office and I've worked the land. We didn't intend for it to be this way, it just happened." He took a bite of the pork, reaching for a flask of wine she'd uncorked. "A pity he wasted all of that money to send me to college at William and Mary. I'm beginning to think I'm a farmer at heart, after all. I like the smell of the soil; I like the feel of it between my fingers." He glanced up at her to see if she thought him foolish for admitting such a thing.